In today's technological environment, a user may interact with a variety of computer systems to achieve specific tasks or obtain specific resources. For example, on any given day, a user might interact with a first computer system to gain entry into a train terminal, a second computer system to access his or her office building, a third computer system to log onto his or her employer's network, and a fourth computer system to purchase coffee. To interact with each of these computer systems, a user may need to remember specific credentials (e.g. username and password) or carry around entry cards storing credentials (e.g. train pass, credit card, etc.). The credentials are usually required by the various computer systems to authorize access to the user, and are typically managed and stored in a dedicated database specific to the individual computer system for which they were issued. This may make authorization difficult for both users and the resource providers they interact with, as users are required to maintain a multitude of cards and credentials, and resource providers are required to maintain their own dedicated databases for storing user data.
In addition, a resource provider that wishes to track or monitor the behavior of users may need to manage specific accounts, which must be updated in each resource provider's dedicated database each time a new interaction with the user occurs. This can become relatively expensive and inefficient, especially for resource providers that do not have the means to process and store large amounts of user data. For example, a resource provider may be a small family business that wishes to customize the way they interact with specific types of customers. The business may have a device that allows them to electronically interact with customers, but may have no means for electronically recording or tracking the customer's interactions. Often times a resource provider may only have a single location or a single computer system for interacting with users, thus making it impractical for the resource provider to own a dedicated server computer for logging and managing user activity.
Embodiments of the invention address this and other problems, individually and collectively.